Under the Rain
by Deena70
Summary: Under the rain, two souls finally discover the beautiful essence of loving and being loved. [RyouAnzu] gift to Anzu's b-day.


**DISCLAIMER:** If only I really did own Yu-Gi-Oh... Not only would I be filthy, stinking rich, but I'd also make Ryou fall madly in love with Anzu and they would end up happily ever after. But sadly I don't, so that's that.

**NOTES:** This is the sequel to "**Love in Silence**". I've finally gotten down to writing it since today is Anzu's birthday! Hmm...well, you don't need to read the prequel to under this one. But to get a deep meaning into their relationship, take a quick peep into **LIS**. All reviews and comments are highly appreciated!

**DEDICATED TO:** Anzu, the birthday girl! Love you lots!!! (Huggles Anzu plushie)

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**Under the Rain**

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Showers of blessing come in the least expected places when you least expected it, and sometimes from the least expected people. Take it from Anzu.

.............................................

The heavy rain pounded on her mercilessly but it was as if she couldn't feel it. Her fragile body was soggy and drenched, but she was no aware of the bitter chill.

"It's over..." She thought as she slowly turned around. She had no idea where she was or where she was going next. She let her feet wander wherever they want to go. Her head was bowed, dark brown waterfalls curtaining her crumpled face from the eyes of the passersby's. Crystal teardrops trailed down her porcelain face, running her mascara but she hardly cared if she looked like a zombie. All she wanted to do was walk...keep walking...

Ryou Bakura was walking out of the shop; one hand holding up an umbrella while the other was heavy with groceries, humming. He stopped short when his brown eyes caught sight of a familiar brunette walking aimlessly past him. Suddenly, she fell down in a heap and shook uncontrollably.

"Anzu!" he gasped and ran forward, dropping his bags in the process. He grabbed hold of her. "Are you all right? Say something."

Anzu raised her head slowly and Ryou's heart ached when he saw the tears. "Y-Yugi..." she choked before she fell unconscious in his arms.

_Yugi? _Ryou frowned but his first priority was to get Anzu out of the rain. He quickly hailed a taxi and, with Anzu in his arms, boarded.

.............................................

Bakura tapped his foot impatiently. What the hell was Ryou doing out so late? He wanted his dinner **now**! "Five more minutes," he grumbled to himself. "I'll give him five more minutes, and if he doesn't come back by then, I'll murder him in the 1001 ways I know how."

The front door suddenly swung open to reveal Ryou...and he was carrying a wet bundle in his arms...

"Ryou, why the hell are you late?" Bakura thundered.

Ryou sighed. "I'm sorry, Bakura. I lost the groceries on my way back. Now can you let me come in? Anzu needs my help."

"Anzu?" Bakura echoed, staring at the brunette. Now that was why she looked familiar. She was one of the Pharaoh's stooges!

Ryou laid Anzu on the couch. The girl blinked and slowly sat up. " W-Where am I?" she whimpered.

"You're in my apartment," Ryou said kindly.

"And...Bakura!" Anzu almost choked when she saw the Ryou counterpart smirking beside with me. We have to get you changed into dry clothes or you'll catch pneumonia." Ryou quickly led her to his room and gave her a clean shirt and jeans. Then he left Anzu to her own devises.

Bakura was waiting for him. His lips pulled back into a sneer, as he looked Ryou up and down. "Why so concerned for her, Ryou? I know you don't make it a habit of taking in stray kittens."

Ryou ignored Bakura's sarcastic remark and went to the kitchen to make some green tea. He then placed the leftovers of his tea – Peanut Butter Pecan cookies – on a platter. "I need to talk to Anzu for a while, Bakura. Please excuse me."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. Seemed as if Ryou cared for the girl a bit **too **much...

**Knock, knock, knock**!!!

"Come in."

The door opened and Ryou entered the room to find Anzu sitting on his bed, combing out her damp hair. He shut the door and sat down beside Anzu. "Tea and cookies?" he asked politely.

"T-Thank you." Anzu smiled gratefully and bit into a cookie.

"What happened, Anzu?"

She looked up and saw Ryou looking at her expectantly. When she stayed silent, Ryou prompted, "Anzu?"

She sighed and stared at her feet. "It's Yugi."

"And what about Yugi?"

"I asked him this morning if he still loves me. He didn't answer. So I gave him an ultimatum: I told him that if he didn't show up at the school field this afternoon, it was all over between us."

Ryou sighed. "He stood you up, didn't he?"

She nodded glumly. "Yeah, can you believe it? He gave up our three-month-old relationship because of Yami. He said he still loves Yami and that he could only love me as a friend." Tears started to form in her eyes.

He wiped them gingerly with his thumb. "So what? You can always find another guy. There are a lot of other fishes in the sea."

She smiled. "Of course you're right, Ryou. I-It's just that I can't get over the fact that I was stupid enough to wait under the rain for him, when I knew he wouldn't come. I should have understood all the signs. The way he would never kiss me, never hold my hands, never call me, never invit me over for a romantic dinner in his house on Wednesday like always. I'm such a fool."

"Anzu..." He wanted to kill Yami for making her hurt like this.

Her eyes saddened. "I loved him, Ryou. I did my best to make it last. Where did I go wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong, Anzu. You two were just not meant to be," he replied.

Anzu laughed bitterly. "Or maybe I should become a nun and give up relationships altogether. Love is just too complicated."

He gave her a cup of tea. "You know what, Anzu? You're just too upset to think straight. Rest now and I'll take you home by dinnertime."

She accepted the tea and stared at the liquid despondently. "Ryou...am I ugly?" she asked.

Ryou blinked, surprised. "Oh no, Anzu," he said, swallowing. "On the contrary, you are a very beautiful woman."

Her cerulean eyes turned imploringly at him. "Then...am I unlovable?"

He stiffened. His heart thundered as if it would explode in his chest. He glanced at her distressed face as if awaiting his answer like her life depended on it. "N-No, you're very easy to love." That was one truth he was aware of.

Very aware of.

"Then why do all the people I love leave me? Why can't anyone love me?" she wailed.

He turned to the window. "To answer your first question, they do not leave you. They're always there because they love you. Love is not limited to a romantic sense, you know."

"You're right..." Anzu murmured, the thought dawning on her for the first time.

"And as for your other question...there **are** people who love you romantically. I know this one fellow who knew you since he was a sophomore and developed his feelings for you as time passed. Right now, he's madly in love with you but he can't tell you because he feels that you're not ready yet."

She looked puzzled. "Do I know him? And what does he mean by **not ready**?"

He faced her again, his chocolate-brown eyes drowning in mixed intense emotions she saw only now. "When you've opened your eyes wide enough to see the people who really care for you, he will tell you." He turned the lights off before leaving the room.

.............................................

It was raining again the next afternoon. Armed with only one small umbrella, Ryou searched the campus for Anzu. He heard from a classmate that Anzu had gone to the school soccer field.

"To see Yugi, I bet." He sighed, barely noticing the mud splattered on his uniform. But this was the price he had to pay for falling in love with Anzu Mazaki. He already accepted the fact that she might never care for him as more than a friend, prepared to torture himself as he watched her with another guy's arm around her, and he was willing to be her dear friend and be there whenever she needed him.

"Ryou!"

Someone called over his shoulder loudly. He turned around and saw Anzu running toward him...soaked to the skin again.

"I'm beginning to wonder if gallivanting under the rain has become a new hobby of yours, Anzu," Ryou said in amusement.

Anzu blushed slightly. "I forgot to bring my umbrella."

"Here, we can share." His umbrella now hovered over her head, shielding her from the pelting rain.

"What are you doing here anyway, Ryou? Class was over half an hour ago," Anzu asked, looking at his muddy uniform.

"I was looking for you because a friend of mine told me you were going to the soccer field meeting a certain someone," he said with a slight tone of irritation.

Anzu raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you if I wanted to talk to Yugi?" she asked testily.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Look, the point is, it's raining cats and dogs and if you don't go home right now, you might catch a cold and – "

"You worry too much, Ryou." But just as she said that, she sneezed.

"See?" Ryou handed her his hanky and she accepted it gratefully. "I'm just concerned for you. So let's just – "

Anzu faced him boldly. "You haven't answered my questions yet, Ryou. Why do you care so much for me? Why do you mind if I wanted to talk to Yugi?"

"Because..." He blushed a deep tomato red, shuffling his feet. "Umm...maybe I should just go. Bakura doesn't like it if I'm late – "

"And...remember that day...last month when I found that poem in your notebook...**Love in Silence**?" she broke in. "You never did tell me who it was."

"Y-You still remembered?"

"Of course I did." She smiled sadly. "It hurt. It really did hurt when I found out that you liked someone else." She gulped. This was it, the moment of truth. "The fact is, when I first saw you, I had this huge crush on you. But there were so many other girls who crowded you every time, all prettier and better than me. So I turned to Yugi and nursed crushes on him. It worked. I got over you and then..." She sighed. "Yesterday, when you saved me and took care of me...you made me fall in love with you all over again."

Ryou's eyes dilated. "You mean..."

"Yes, I'm in love with you. But I don't want you to feel guilty or sorry for me, because I know you don't feel the same way. I just wanted to let it all out. Why? Well, I'm sure you've heard of that cliché _the truth will set you free_?" Anzu laughed hollowly. "Well, I have got to go. Thank you...for everything."

"Wait!" Ryou grabbed her arm. "I have a confession too. You want to know why I hate to see you with Yugi? Why I worry about you? Well, the truth is, I'm in love with you too. And I go out of my mind with jealousy with just the mere thought of you and Yugi together."

The heavy rain pounded on them mercilessly, but they didn't feel it as his words began to sink into reality. Misty-eyed, Anzu finally spoke. "You...you love me?"

Ryou nodded. "That girl I wrote in my poetry...that was you. '**A**' for Anzu, see? **I** was that boy who loved you since sophomore. But I was afraid you didn't feel the same way, what with Yugi and everything..."

She threw herself into his embrace and laughed, not minding that the umbrella had fallen to the ground or the sprinkles of raindrops. "I love you so very much, Ryou. We waited a long time, but we're finally together." She eyed him uncertainly. "You **do** want me for a girlfriend, don't you? I give you fair warning, to really win my heart you need to shower me with lots and lots of romance. I'm sorely deprived of them for a long time now. But I can understand if you chicken out..."

He smiled boyishly. "Anzu Mazaki, I'm ready to romance you with candies and flowers and treat you like a princess if you'll be mine."

Anzu beamed. "Then Ryou Bakura, you are hereby appointed as my official boyfriend. Also to seal the deal...a kiss from the princess." And with that, she bent down and planted a kiss on the surprised Ryou's lips.

Two souls had finally discovered the beautiful essence of love and being loved...under the rain.

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**The End**

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That's the end of the fic. But come back for more Ryou X Anzu fics by _moi _soon enough. I hope you had a good read. See you!


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